Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Gary Rhine: Voice to the Voiceless

Filmmaker Gary Rhine died this week while doing something he loved - flying a small plane. The plane crashed in Lancaster, California, on January 9th at 1:40 p.m.

In the past decade, Gary Rhine completed a series of documentary films with the writer Phil Cousineau in defense of the religious traditions of Native Americans.

The actor Peter Coyote was appreciative of Gary's work and described how, "Native Americans are recognized the world over as keepers of a vital piece of the Creator's original orders, and yet regarded as little more than squatters at home."

Peter Coyote goes on to describe that through his " fine footage and impressive interviews, (Gary Rhine), gives a voice to the voiceless".

"A Seat at the Table"Directed by Gary RhineWritten by Phil Cousineau

"Religions represent insights and experiences rather than masses of followers and while many religious traditions encourage the development of the individual, the native religions, perhaps more than any others, stimulate the highest level of maturity and achievement; that of community responsibility. For that reason we deserve more than a seat at the table but perhaps the speaker's podium as well". Vine Deloria, Jr.

Gary Rhine's funeral will be in San Francisco on Sunday the 15th of January:Congregation Beth-Israel-Judea625 Brotherhood WaySan Francisco, Ca. 94132Services will begin at 1:30.

1 comment:

Brittany Romero
said...

This was my uncle Rhino...i'm amazed to finally see how much he has accomplished and how many people loved him. I will truly miss his wonderful glow and his corny jokes :). I love and miss you uncle Rhino...i will see you again.

Santa Monica-based artist Gregg Chadwick has been painting for three decades. His current studio is an old airplane hangar where the flurry of takeoffs and landings on the runway outside seems to creep into Chadwick’s paintings as he explores movement and travel within his light-filled paintings. His current series of paintings is entitled ‘Mystery Train’ and evokes the railways of America that Chadwick says run in his blood. His grandfather worked as a fireman, stoking coal in steam engines before advancing to train engineer on the Jersey Central Line. Chadwick often says that family gatherings brought the rhythms of the rails home. The sounds of railroad workers echoed in the music that Chadwick’s relatives played in the shadows of the train lines outside. For Chadwick and many others such as writer Greil Marcus, filmmaker Jim Jarmusch, and musicians Junior Parker and Elvis Presley, the enduring mythos of America and its legacy is wrapped in the blues notes of the song ‘Mystery Train’

Chadwick's thoughts on the intersection of art, culture, and politics can be found on his blog, Speed of Life.

Chadwick's flickr page which is often updated with new finished paintings and work in progress is at: